Sirius XM increases predictions for member growth in 2014

Sirius XM shared strong subscriber growth in its second-quarter conference call, but recently increased its projections for that metric. In the call, the company predicted that it would add 1.25 million new subscribers for the year. Now it has increased that guidance, and is expecting to add 1.45 million for a total subscriber base of 27 million.

CEO Jim Meyer said that the revised member guidance was based on the strong sales for new cars over the summer. Billboard reported that August was an especially strong month for auto sales, which is a crucial component of the satellite radio company’s audience growth. According to Sirius XM’s 2013 annual report, it has converted about 45% of its free trials into paying customers over the past two years.

The company did not change its outlook for any other financial metrics.